Paris (France not Texas) is a romantic city, I don’t think anybody would contest that observation, right?
My second date with my future Hubs was to Paris. My daughter, when we were talking about this last night said,
“Wasn’t it awkward?” I looked at Hubs, we shrugged our shoulders and I said,
“No! We’d known each other for, oh…three days!” Just kidding and no it wasn’t awkward, that was back in the days of Southern Gentlemen, chivalry, chastity belts and all that honourable stuff!
Hubs was working here, in England, with a band and asked me, just as our first date was drawing to a close, where I would like to go on our second date?
“Choose somewhere you’ve never been,” he said.
“I’ve never been to Paris,” came my precocious reply. And there, one July weekend, we fell in love, or at least that’s how the story goes in our house! We pledged to name our first girl after that romantic city. Never mind that Paris is a hero’s name, I was weird and English but I wasn’t going to saddle a son with a feminine sounding moniker.
“Boys, say ‘Thanks Mum!'”
My youngest daughter went to Paris with her boyfriend while he was staying with us recently. Chivalry, honour and Southern Gentlemen were in residence. To express their undying love for one another they partook in a new tradition that wasn’t around in the dark ages of our courtship, either that or we were too busy picking ourselves up from falling in love to notice.
On the evening of their ten month anniversary they went to the Pont Des Arts, linking the Left bank with the Louvre. There they found a spot and attached a padlock that proclaimed,
“T & M Forever, August 12th, 2011.” in a neat etch done by T, to the railings of the bridge. They recorded the event with a few photographs (loads actually) and then, together, flung the keys over the side and into the slowly flowing Seine below.
This act will ensure that they return to the same spot to claim their padlock (or not, since the keys are in the mud at the bottom of the river), or at least look at it and “ooh” and “aah” and take more photographs of themselves several years older but still very much in love. It is romantic isn’t it?
For us, it’s the Trevi fountain in Rome! I wonder?
Well hello there! My name is Vivienne McNeny.
I am an empty nester exploring life as a Boomer…you could say I'm happily Boomering along!
As a homeschooling Mum I have finally quit the job of role model and mentor to my four children. I do what I want to do, eat when I feel like it, enjoy life with my blue eyed cowboy and clean my house once a month or so whether it needs it or not!
In true English form I write about the emergence of my true identity now that I can no longer hide behind my children as their Mum.
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